A/N: People! You have no faith! Danny isn't their father...he's only known Lindsay for a short while! This is set a couple of months after the end of Less Than Graceful. We all know Lindsay has some kind of secret so I ask you...why not kids? This is a product OF MY IMAGINATION. BTW, in this fic, Lindsay is 29...hehe

Of Cheating and Purple Duck Pajamas

After dropping Grace off at school, Lindsay drove back to her apartment, lost in her own thoughts as she allowed Elizabeth to switch from station to station on the radio, finally leaving it on a satisfactory station.

She didn't understand how the girls had managed to get past the strict rules of the Monroes long enough to even plan a trip to New York. But she knew if anyone could do it, Elizabeth could.

Elizabeth watched all the tall buildings and all the people and tried not to show how amazed she was. She felt like a foreigner, like someone would see her riding by in the slow moving traffic and just know that she wasn't from there. "Mom," she said, turning down the radio. "How come you didn't bring us when you came here?"

Lindsay tensed, feeling a deep sense of guilt for leaving her daughters with her parents while she went off to her dream job. "It's complicated, Lizzy," she said after a moment's hesitation.

Elizabeth nodded and swallowed as tears pricked her eyes. All her life, her mom had told her everything, good or bad. Up until nearly a year earlier, when, in the middle of the night, she announced that she had a new job and that they needed to leave. It was a situation where Elizabeth did what she was told without asking questions, which was so unlike her. It was just something in her mom's eyes. Then, they went to Monroe farm, Lindsay's parents' place. Elizabeth had tried really hard not to ask too many questions, but when Lindsay explained that she was going to New York and they weren't, her mind filled almost to bursting with questions. Not one was asked. She was too busy being angry at her mom and comforting her sister.

"We're here," Lindsay announced quietly.

Elizabeth looked into the backseat and smiled at the sight of her little sister sleeping. "I'll get her," she said quietly.

Lindsay put her hand on her arm. "How 'bout you get her next time?" she suggested.

Elizabeth avoided looking directly into her mom's eyes. She knew the sadness she would see, the apologies she wasn't ready for. "Whatever."

Lindsay groaned as Elizabeth forcefully pushed the door open and slammed it behind her. It was a good thing Sam was a deep sleeper. She sighed and got out of the car, shutting the door behind her and immediately opening the back door. She stood there for a few minutes looking down at Sam. She was curled up in a ball, her face pressing into her knees. "Come on, baby girl," Lindsay said, scooping Sam up.

Elizabeth was leaning against the wall beside Lindsay's door. She took the keys from Lindsay and opened the door. She immediately looked through the fridge upon entering. "Are you kidding me?" she said. There wasn't much in the fridge. Mainly leftover pizza and a few beers. She briefly considered shocking her mom by downing one of the beers, but decided the murder that would occur afterwards wasn't worth it.

Sighing, Elizabeth shut the door and watched her mom lay Sam down on the couch and cover her with a blanket. She turned away from the sweet scene with a roll of her eyes. "Mom, I'm hungry."

"There's some leftover pizza in the fridge," Lindsay said, standing up.

Elizabeth made a face. "I was thinking something along the lines of breakfast food..."

Lindsay gave her an apologetic look. "I don't really have anything else, but if you'll stay here with your sister, I'll run to the store down at the corner and get something."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I'll just eat the pizza," she grumbled.

Lindsay sighed and went into her room to scream into a pillow. She forgot how frustrating it was to be on the receiving end of Elizabeth's bad attitude. She plopped down on the bed and decided against actually screaming. Instead, she just laid there.

"So," Elizabeth said around her mouthful of pizza. "Let's talk about everything that happened since you abandoned us at the GPs' house."

"Lizzy--"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," she interrupted. "I just want to talk without the interrogation. I just want to talk."

"What are you talking about?" Lindsay said as Elizabeth sat down by her head. "We talked on the phone everyday up until a few weeks ago...Did something happen since then?"

"No!" Elizabeth gritted out. Then she sighed. "Look, I just want to talk...mainly because I'm bored...tell me who Grace is."

"I'm pretty sure I already did," Lindsay said, giving Elizabeth a strange look. "In all my emails for the past few months, I think there have been some mention of Grace."

"Oh yeah," Elizabeth said thoughtfully. "The first thing I was planning on doing when I got here was check my email. Haven't checked it since Christmas."

Lindsay was shocked to say the least. Elizabeth without her computer was like cake without icing or chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips. Lindsay's stomach growled and she mentally rolled her eyes. Why couldn't she have chosen a different analogy? "Why?"

"Well. Papa thinks I'm a spoiled brat, and I might have done...a lot of things to prove him right."

"What did you do to my dad?" Lindsay asked suspiciously.

"I almost blew up his favorite cow, I stopped him from killing that dang pig in front of me, I protested loudly when he tried to feed me meat from said pig, and...a lot of other things... Oh yeah, and I failed the seventh grade."

The blood drained from Lindsay's face. "You failed!" she asked, sitting up. Elizabeth had always been the top in her class. She didn't study, didn't read a lot, didn't do any extra work...she was just really smart.

"Yep. I didn't turn in any homework at all the entire year," Elizabeth said proudly. The truth was, it hurt not to do her homework. Contrary to popular belief, she did actually like the praises she got for her good work.

Hearing the kids at her new school talk about how much she showed off with her A+ grades and her ability to answer every question off the top of her head affected her more than she let on. She just stopped doing her work and faded into the background. She went to a private school in a large town about ten miles from where her grandparents lived. She was a loner and liked it that way. People in that town tended to be hypocritical and judgmental. She was a unique individual that refused to conform to their evil pod people ways.

"Elizabeth," Lindsay said firmly, preparing herself for the inevitable shouting match.

"No, mom," Elizabeth said softly. "I wasn't allowed to tell you anything that happened at Nana and Papa's so you don't know enough of the story to yell at me."

"What do you mean?" Lindsay asked worriedly. She quelled the urge to yell and sat silently, waiting for Elizabeth to explain.

"Me and Sam were not to tell you anything that would put any unnecessary strain or worry on you. We were to tell about simple things, not about every hellish thing we did. Not about the blue poodle or the jello pool or about the cock fight."

"Cock fight!"

"Just kidding about that part," Elizabeth said impishly. Then she turned serious again. "Nana was insane. She acted like you would break if we told you anything about anything. I couldn't even tell you about the stable boy!" She grinned at her mom. "He was the best thing that ever could've happened out there in the middle of a frickin field with all those animals."

Lindsay groaned and buried her face in her hands. "What did you do?" she asked, peeking at her through her fingers.

Elizabeth wiggled her eyebrows. "That's not important. Right now, I have to tell you..." She beamed proudly. "Sammy broke some kid's nose."

Lindsay closed her eyes. "I think you should wait until tonight, when I can take a shot every time you tell me something truly shocking," she said, only half joking.

"Yay, a new drinking game," Elizabeth said. Then she softened. "It was hard work earning the money to get here."

Lindsay looked at her. "Job at the feed store?" she asked sympathetically.

Elizabeth scoffed. "Yeah, right," she snorted.

Lindsay looked puzzled. There was no other place that would've hired a thirteen-year-old girl. "Then how..." she trailed off, hoping that Elizabeth would fill in the blanks.

Even though the policy apparently didn't seem to apply to her mom, she still felt that being honest with her was best. "The kids in that holier than thou town are big cheaters."

Lindsay stared at her blankly, not catching on.

Elizabeth pulled a wad of cash from her jeans pocket. "Twenty bucks for a book report. Get me a copy of the test and I'll have the answers for fifty bucks. Homework varies, depending on the complexity and just how hard I have to work. It's a surprisingly good business." She didn't have any friends, but that didn't stop the secret operation from going on. It was mostly high school kids anyway. At least at first. She refused to do any business in the middle school, but they paid almost double, another reason for her to be hated in her school, than what the high schoolers paid. Some would get their older siblings to slip their work in to pay less, but Elizabeth started catching on and denying their business. That stopped them.

Lindsay snatched the bills from her hand, seeing hundreds and fifties. "You fail, but you still manage to do everyone else's work?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "The school doesn't pay me." She hardened herself against the disappointment she saw on her mom's face. It hurt, but that didn't matter. "Look. It's taken a lot of planning to get here. I figured if you knew, you would call Papa and he would lock me in the storage shed again." She smiled slightly at the horrified look on her mom's face. "Kidding."

Lindsay groaned. She had missed her daughters dearly, even when Elizabeth would push her to the point where she would actually have to spank her. "Lizzy, I've never actually beat you, but I'm not above doing so. I think I still have the belt daddy "passed on" to me when you were born."

"I think he was just trying to give you a little help seems how you were only sixteen." She paused. "How did this all start anyway? I'm pretty sure I came in here to ask you something specific..." Elizabeth finished off her cold pizza as she tried to remember the reason she'd come in there.

"I think you were asking me who Grace was," Lindsay said.

"Right. She's cute. Who are you babysitting for?"

"Why don't you just go check your email?" Lindsay suggested tiredly. "That'll tell you all you need to know about her."

Elizabeth's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea! Just so you know, when Sam wakes up, she's going to be really hungry."

"Don't worry, I have this cash you earned. I'm pretty sure that'll get us through," Lindsay said lightly. Her eyes silently challenged Elizabeth to protest.

Elizabeth knew when to retreat and that was definitely one of those times. She silently got off the bed and made her way into the living room to her mom's computer.

Lindsay laid in her bed and looked around. She lived in a one-bedroom apartment with a pretty small living area. Her full sized bed was fine for her and Grace, when she stayed. Elizabeth usually slept on her belly and Sam had a habit of curling up in a ball. She shook her head. Sleeping arrangements could be made later.

She had a lot to think about at that moment. Elizabeth obviously resented her for leaving them with her parents. She knew that if she'd actually told her what was going on, the reaction wouldn't have been so bad, but she was just a kid. The reasons Lindsay had for leaving them there were to protect them. Then there was all Elizabeth's usual antics and, on top of that, Sam broke a kid's nose! Sam was too good, and shy for that matter, to do things like that!

Lindsay didn't realize how long she laid there thinking, but she drifted off to sleep. The next thing she knew, Lizzy was poking her in the ribs for her to wake up. "Mom, it's lunch time and we're hungry. Cold pizza sucks."

"Heat it up," Lindsay said reasonably, letting sleep claim her once more.

"Reheated pizza sucks," Elizabeth countered. "Take us to get something to eat or I'm calling your boss to tell him that you've kept us in the closet for however long you've been here. You only give us one meal a day and a gallon of water every other day. You lock us in the bathroom to clean our closet once a week."

Lindsay cracked open an eye and stared up at her daughter. "You've thought a lot about this, haven't you?" she asked.

Elizabeth just shrugged. "Come on. Sammy's brain is currently rotting. It's already half way there if she's still watching that stupid sponge."

"What stupid sponge?" Lindsay asked as she allowed her daughter to drag her out of bed.

"SpongeBob."

Lindsay rolled her eyes and followed Elizabeth into the living room. Elizabeth had a weird aversion to SpongeBob that would take a professional psychiatrist to dissect. "Hey baby," Lindsay said, turning the TV off. "Let's go get something to eat."

Sam nodded in agreement and slid off the couch. Her braids where somewhat frizzy from sleeping on them, but she was still so cute. She smiled shyly and slipped her hand into Elizabeth's.

"So what do you want to eat?" Lindsay asked as they got into the car.

"Mashed potatoes," Samantha said from the backseat.

"And steak," Elizabeth said. "We want some actual food."

"Did you not eat "actual food" at Nana and Papa's?" Lindsay asked.

Elizabeth and Samantha shared a look and Elizabeth tactfully changed the subject. "So when's Grace get out of school?"

Lindsay looked at her watch and gasped. "In about five minutes!" she said loudly.

Sam winced and covered her ears protectively. "It's only noon," Elizabeth pointed out incredulously.

"Grace gets out early since it's her last day," Lindsay said, silently thanking God that the roads were fairly clear.

"That's not fair," Liz said. "I had to go the whole day. So did Sammy and her class consists of a bunch of four-year-olds."

"Who probably did nothing but play all day," Lindsay said.

"You don't know that for sure, do you? Maybe they had some kind of assessment to determine where they are on the numbers and alphabet and stuff," Liz said.

Lindsay gave her a withering look. "Pre-K is for learning colors and sharing and simple things like that. They don't take assessments" She pulled up outside Grace's school. "Come on."

Samantha climbed over the seat and crawled out the driver's side. Elizabeth picked her little sister up and held her close. The stayed right outside the doors while their mom went inside to get Grace. "That was a close one back there," she whispered. "Can't have mom knowing why we left, can we?"

Sam shook her head and played with Elizabeth's earring. "Daddy's gonna be mad," she said softly. "He takeded our stuff already."

Elizabeth tugged one of Sam's braids. "Dad doesn't have a say in anything we do," she reminded her. "He left us too many times to count. He didn't have the right--" She shushed Sam when they spotted Grace skipping happily with Lindsay in tow.

"HI!" Grace bellowed loudly when she was outside the building.

Sam buried her face in the crook of Elizabeth's neck. "Hi," Elizabeth said calmly. "How was your day?"

Grace started rambling about the party they had and how she got a cookie and a goody bag. "See? Montana says I can't have any 'til we eat."

"Montana?" Sam whispered.

"It's a nickname," Elizabeth explained. "This guy gave it to her because she's from Montana." Lindsay's emails were very helpful.

They ended up eating chicken instead of steak, and they brought it back to Lindsay's apartment to eat. Grace and Elizabeth ate like they hadn't had a meal in weeks while Lindsay and Sam ate slower and much more politely. Sam still managed to make a mess of herself, but no more so than Grace.

"Bath time already?" Elizabeth asked dryly.

"Yeah!" Grace cheered, smiling widely. The thought of water making her wiggle with excitement.

Sam stared shyly down at her mostly empty plate. "Me and Sammy are going to watch some cartoons first," Elizabeth decided. "I need a shower too."

Lindsay, knowing that Elizabeth was just being a sister, smiled softly. Sam was afraid of strangers and it probably wouldn't have been a very good idea to expect her to bathe with Grace when they'd just met. "Okay then. Come on, Grace."

Grace followed, looking back at Sam and Elizabeth. They were both sad, that was obvious, but they needed a friend. She resolved, that after they were all clean again, she would try to be that friend.

It wasn't to be though. After everyone was clean and dressed, Grace tried to get Sam to play with her.

"Come on, Sammy Sam Sam. Look, we have cars. Vroom Vroom." She pushed the car up Sam's leg and stopped suddenly when she saw the tears in Sam's big brown eyes. "I'm sorry!" she said quickly, wrapping her arms around the little girl.

That just made Sam cry harder, and Grace soon joined in.

"Mom!" Elizabeth yelled, only slightly amused. She knew the panic Grace must've felt, but Sam's shyness wouldn't allow her to make friends immediately.

Lindsay walked into her bedroom and saw the crying girls. "Oh no," she said faintly.

"Good luck." Elizabeth smirked as she walked past her mother.

((((((((((CSI:NY))))))))))

Danny walked into Lindsay's apartment. He always did just to see what Grace had got her to agree to do that day. Instead, he found a girl in purple pajamas with little yellow ducks on them with her hair wrapped in a towel, eating ice cream. He reflexively reached for his gun.

Elizabeth saw what he was doing and raised her spoon. "Don't point your gun at me! It's not nice and completely uncalled for! I'm unarmed...unless you count this spoon, but what am I gonna do with a spoon?" She smirked at him. "Can't you see that I'm just an unsuspecting young girl? If you start waving your firearm around, I might start crying."

Danny carefully brought his hand away from his holster. "Who are you? Where's Lindsay?"

Elizabeth took a bite of her ice cream. "Grace made Sammy cry and that caused Grace to cry so she's in there," she pointed to Lindsay's bedroom, "trying to calm them down."

Danny only had one more question. "Why are you in your pajamas at two o'clock in the afternoon?"

TBC...I hope that got SOME stuff cleared up. In case you didn't get that, Elizabeth is 13 and Sam is 4. Lindsay left them with her parents when she went to New York. The reason why and more about who their dad is will be revealed...later. Also, GP is short for grandparents...I call my parents the Ps and my grandparents the GPs...because I can.